Utah Jazz Projected to Land Northwestern Basketball Star in NBA Draft

One of the youngest teams in the league has a lot of draft capital entering Wednesday's NBA Draft.

Michigan guard Nimari Burnett (4) tries to steal the ball from Northwestern guard Brooks Barnhizer (13) during the first half at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brooks Barnhizer has quickly climbed up big boards in the weeks leading up to the NBA Draft, and with the event almost here, Northwestern fans are anxiously waiting to find out where their former captain will play professionally.

As analysts and scouts put finishing touches on their newest mock drafts, Barnhizer landed one last prediction on Wednesday involving a rebuilding Western Conference team. In basketball writer Sam Vecenie's final mock draft for The Athletic before the first round begins on Wednesday night, Barnhizer was projected to be selected No. 53 overall by the Utah Jazz. Vecenie's previous June 20 mock had Barnhizer going to the Indiana Pacers at pick No. 54.

The Jazz, coming off a league-worst and franchise-worst 17-65 season, have four draft picks between the two-day event: No. 5, No. 21, No. 43 and No. 53 overall. In Vecenie's prediction, Barnhizer would join Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears, UConn wing Liam McNeeley and Serbian forward Bogoljub Markovic in helping to turn around a Utah team that has struggled since trading All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in 2022.

Lauri Markkanen is still on the team after a season in which he played a career-low 47 games, but the rest of the Jazz's roster is one of the youngest in the league. Utah has nine players aged 24 or younger under contract for next season, and adding an athlete like Barnhizer could help fortify the team's young core.

The NBA Draft begins at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 25 and Thursday, June 26.